By Pat Cummings
D3sports.com
McDaniel head coach Tim Keating likely could only shake his head after the Green Terror (3-0) survived in a 37-36 double overtime win against Catholic (0-3). Westminster's finest opened up to a 17-0 lead and floundered as the Cardinals scored 24 unanswered points before a McDaniel rally in the closing stages of regulation.
Freshman Keith Ricca's second touchdown pass of the game to Nick Bublavi, this with just under 12 minutes to play, gave CUA a 24-17 lead. The Cardinals defense held tough until the last McDaniel drive of regulation.
Ricca failed to earn the Cardinals a first down on fourth-and-5 from McDaniel's 29-yard line and turned the ball back to the Green Terror on downs with 2:19 remaining.
With senior quarterback Brad Baer out with a broken collarbone since the second half of the Bridgewater game, and junior Tom Wenrich's lackluster play after injuring his hand in the third quarter, McDaniel was down to its third-string quarterback, sophomore Brett Gibson. The youngster led the Green Terror to four first downs on the final drive of the fourth quarter, capped by a 4-yard touchdown pass to Jamie Unger as time expired. Freshman kicker Jay Leonard added the extra point to push the contest to McDaniel's second overtime game in school history.
After Catholic scored on just three plays in their first overtime opportunity, freshman kicker Sam Weaver's point after was blocked, opening the door for McDaniel to win with the full seven.
Gibson took the field and marched the Terror down to the 1-yard line, where he too fell victim to the Cardinals defense. Gibson actually left the game for a play as fourth-string quarterback Nick Larichiuta entered the contest and handed-off to backup running back Mekios Parker for a touchdown.
Parker stepped in for McDaniel's top back Broderick Maybank, who injured his knee earlier in the game, and managed only 30 yards rushing on 14 carries.
One good freshman kicker deserves another as Jay Leonard missed an extra point attempt, forcing a second overtime session.
It was deja vu all over again as the Green Terror special teams blocked Sam Weaver's second extra point attempt after Catholic scored on another three-play drive in the second overtime.
Gibson returned for McDaniel and led the Green down to the Catholic 1-yard line where the Cardinals defense stopped Gibson on a sneak attempt, forcing a fourth-and-goal. Keating called Mekios Parker's number again and he ran in to tie the game.
Leonard stepped back up, and punched the one-pointer through, pushing McDaniel on top in a strange, injury-plagued game.
"We're so depleted," Keating told the Carroll County Times, "thank God we've got two weeks."
The bye certainly comes at an opportune time for McDaniel before they swing into conference action with Ursinus in two weeks.
Follow the logic, part one
Bethany beats Franklin and Marshall in Week 1, 34-21. The Bison, 2-18 over the past two seasons, have since lost two games since their win over F&M, including a 29-26 loss at Defiance last week. The Yellow Jackets were a combined 5-15 in 2003 and 2004, and scored their first points of the 2005 season on Saturday in the win over Bethany.
Now, the Diplomats fell to 0-2 last weekend with a 34-0 loss at Hobart. Could we have been so wrong about F&M in the Kickoff? Remember that?
"10-0."
Well, F&M failed to convert a third down in their visit to upstate New York. A whopping 0-for-13 combined with three turnovers aided in the debacle. F&M returns to Lancaster for their home opener this weekend, hosting Carnegie Mellon.
The Dips now find themselves headlining the "don't pick this team to do anything again" department. A bit harsh? Perhaps. Conference action kicks in after the CMU game, and just as the MAC rolls, so too does the CC.
Anything can and will happen. Stay tuned.
Follow the logic, part deux
William Paterson beats Wilkes. Wilkes shuts out Widener. Widener holds Lycoming in an uninspiring contest. Lycoming pummels Juniata. Juniata nearly beats Lebanon Valley.
Anyone still scratching their heads on the first game? I'll admit that Paterson seems to be a team beginning to improve. But for those who might be questioning Del Val's (3-0) narrow 17-14 victory over Wilkes (1-2), combined with their being ranked 12th in the latest D3football.com Top 25 Poll, we should all ask: Is this really anything new?
In 2004, eight of Del Val's 13 games were decided by seven points or fewer. The bottom line is that they win. What might be more surprising is that Bill Miller nailed a game-winning 30-yard field goal with three seconds remaining. Miller failed on five field goal attempts in his sophomore season in 2004, after having been named a D3football.com preseason All-American. This year he is two for his first three attempts, including the game winner.
The Aggies live on the edge. They will be the least surprised when they lose. Considering that they understand that ... I can hear G.A. Mangus now: "So what."
Maryville gets first USAC win
The Fighting Scots of Maryville (1-2) opened up to a 35-7 lead over visiting Greensboro and held on to take the 35-27 win, their first conference victory. Seven interceptions tossed by Greensboro quarterback Justin Roberson led to 28 of Maryville's points in the win.
Despite the bevy of turnovers, the Pride (0-2) scored the last 20 points of the game, aided by some of the 12 Maryville penalties for 143 yards. Greensboro's enthralling third-down conversion statistics surely had something to do with the performance: 2-for-13.
Ursinus stuns La Salle
I have to think that the Explorers thought their matchup with Ursinus was an easy path to their first win.
Wrong.
Despite outgaining the Bears (1-2) by 221 yards, I-AA non-scholarship La Salle never got its offense going, nor its kicking game. The Explorers missed two extra points in Ursinus' 13-12 win.
That makes two consecutive weeks that Ursinus has propped a surprising score on the board. Last week's narrow loss at Albright turned heads, even though most of their points came off of special teams miscues. Now, the Bears just need a Centennial Conference victory. Having gone 0-18 within the CC the past three seasons, conference action opens up in Week 5 at McDaniel after a bye this week.
Port marches on, and up
Congrats to Albright senior John Port who continues his climb into elite company at the quarterback position. Port surpassed the 10,000 passing yard mark during Saturday's 21-7 win at Susquehanna, good enough for eighth on the all-time list in Division 3. Port needs only 126 yards to catapult from eighth to fifth. If we counted his current season average per game (264), he would end up third on the all-time list.
Great Scott does it again
Johns Hopkins junior kicker Ben Scott delivered all nine points for the second time in three games this season, including a 24-yard field goal as time expired, in the Blue Jays' 9-6 win over Carnegie Mellon (2-1).
JHU (3-0) remains a statistical anomaly, opening the year with three wins, outscoring opponents on average 14-4. The perfect 3-0 start marks the fourth consecutive season in which Jim Margraff's squad has managed such an opening record.
Water under the bridge
Thanks to reader, and Bridgewater (Va.) professor Joe Crockett for making us aware of a statistical irony. Through the first two weeks of the season, tied for 18th in D3 with 42 points per game: Bridgewater State (Mass.) and Bridgewater (Va.).
Random stat pack fact of the week
Moravian sophomore Matt Sheridan tied an NCAA record on Saturday, joining five other players who have blocked three punts in a single game. Sheridan matched the feat in the Greyhounds' 29-18 win over King's.
Mid-Atlantic Region Top 5
1. Delaware Valley
2. Hampden-Sydney
3. Bridgewater
4. McDaniel
5. Moravian
Del Val holds on to the top spot after their narrow win. H-SC enjoyed a bye week and return with Guilford. The Eagles trounced the Hanover, but allowed a bunch of points. McDaniel probably should have lost to Catholic but the injury bug is alive and well. Moravian works back in.
What to watch for in Week 4
Review the week four schedule and trust me, you won't be enthralled with competitive matchups. Which is, by itself, compelling. There have been several features of the 2005 season that just haven't made much sense. So watch the scoreboard on Saturday, listen in to some of the Internet broadcasts, and enjoy an afternoon in the Mid-Atlantic region.
